'The Shirt' Gleams Gold for 20^th Anniversary
By Kerry Hutton ’09, Hannah Storm Journalism Intern

This year marks the 20^th anniversary of what Matthew Barloh ’10 calls “one of the greatest Notre Dame traditions.” It’s 20 years of The Shirt, a project that began in 1990 when Notre Dame students rallied together in matching t-shirts, turning their section of the football stadium into a green mass to help the Fighting Irish take on the rival Michigan Wolverines.

The Shirt proved powerful that September day: the Irish beat Michigan 28-24. Barloh, president of The Shirt 2009, is confident that the power of The Shirt will prove itself again this year.

This year’s shirt shouts a powerful message: “Rise and Strike.” Taken from the song “Hike, Notre Dame,” Rise and Strike calls Notre Dame fans to stand behind the Irish and defend the traditions, glory, and spirit that define Notre Dame.

The color, which Barloh proudly refers to as “old gold,” celebrates the 20-year anniversary, and marks a change from what Notre Dame fans have seen in the past.

“We haven’t tried this color gold before,” Barloh explains. “What we’re trying to do is to establish gold as viable option to the colors we’ve used in the past—navy blue and every shade of green you can think of.”

While the gold color marks a change in the history of The Shirt, the spirit of the project—particularly its goal of intimidating ND rivals—remains the same. Barloh points out that this year’s shirt is gold, not yellow, because yellow seems “very similar to what they have at Michigan.”

This fall, a nation of Domers will don their shirts with pride and prepare to cheer the Irish on to victory. While they may appreciate the intimidating “Defend Our Honor” on the back of The Shirt or the logo commemorating the 20^th anniversary on the left sleeve, few will consider the careful planning and deliberation that went into the creation of those designs.

As president of The Shirt, Barloh put in about three hours of work per day, six days a week. As it came time to prepare for the unveiling of The Shirt on April 19, Barloh was averaging seven hours of work each day. While the time commitment was challenging, Barloh says the decision-making process was even tougher. “There were six people on the committee, including a University advisor, so you had a lot of differing opinions when it came to making decisions,” Barloh explains.  

However, just as the Notre Dame family unites behind the Fighting Irish each year, the committee united behind a color and a design. The result, Barloh says, is a source of pride for him, The Shirt committee, and the global Notre Dame community.

“I look at the final package and I think that there was a lot of energy and effort that went into that shirt,” Barloh says. “I feel confident that it’s going to unite Notre Dame fans behind the football team.”  

Visit The Shirt website for the complete history of this project and to see images of the 2009 Shirt.